Racially charged murder trial grips Hawaii

U.S. State Department Agent Christopher Deedy on trial for second degree murder

HONOLULU — As George Zimmerman’s second-degree murder trial for the killing of Treyvon Martin crawls to a close in Florida, Hawaii is in the midst of its racially charged murder trial.

Claims of self defense and the right to bear arms are central in both cases.

Zimmerman, a 29-year-old Hispanic who headed the neighborhood watch patrol in his Sanford, Fla., community, maintains he shot and killed the 17-year-old Martin, who was black, in self-defense. Immediately after the shooting, Zimmerman was accused of targeting Martin because of his race, and Florida’s conceal-carry law came under intense scrutiny.

In Hawaii, U.S. State Department Agent Christopher Deedy is on trial for killing 23-year-old Kollin Elderts following a confrontation at a fast-food restaurant. The second-degree murder trial started on Monday in Honolulu’s First Circuit Court.

Immediately after Deedy, a 29-year-old Arlington, Va., resident, shot and killed Elderts, a local minority, on Nov. 5, 2011, racial tensions flared, as did the debate over whether Deedy should have been allowed to carry his weapon while he was out drinking.

Deedy was in Hawaii with the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security to protect dignitaries including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, an event that attracted 21 world leaders and 20,000 participants from Nov. 7-13, 2011.

At 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 5, Deedy clashed with Elderts in a Waikiki McDonalds restaurant after both had been out drinking with friends.

“While at the cashier counter, Elderts began to verbally harass Perrine using racial slurs. Perrine asked Elderts to leave him alone, not to single him out, and stated words to the effect that he was a ‘local,’” a defense filing said.

There was a brief but escalating brawl that involved Deedy and Elderts and their friends inside the restaurant.

In court on Monday, the prosecution and defense told different versions of what came next.

Honolulu Deputy Prosecutor Janice Futa said: “The defendant is up and draws from his right rear hip area the gun. Kollin turns around and sees him and the defendant within three feet of Kollin Elderts and fires his gun. He misses. Kollin, now having been shot at by the defendant, lunges toward him reaching for the gun. They grapple in front of the counter and then two more shots ring out. After the shots, Kollin falls on top of the defendant onto the floor. The third bullet was fired. After the third bullet was fired, the gun jams.”

Defense attorney Hart said: “The evidence will show that he used a number of measured steps to try to sway Mr. Elderts, and Mr. Shane Medeiros (Elderts friend) for that matter, from their violent assault.”

Hart said the slur- and profanity-laced exchange between Elderts and Perrine got Deedy’s attention.

“These are now fighting words,” says Hart. “This is a threat of violence. This is what Deedy is trained to perhaps respond to, although he wasn’t here to respond to the laws of harassment or bullying. He’s a federal agent and his job is to serve the community.”

Kollin Elderts was arrested twice: Once in 2008 and another time in 2010

The prosecutor has painted Deedy as an inexperienced agent who consumed alcohol against State Department policy while carrying a firearm and “stuck his nose” into a situation in McDonalds “that was not his business.”

However, Hart said the defendant was not drunk and showed the jury video of him being arrested to bolster his claim.

Hawaii has a concealed-carry law, but typically only law enforcement officers and retirees are issued permits. However, Hart maintained the U.S. State Department authorized Deedy to carry a weapon at all times.

Deedy sustained several injuries to his face including a broken nose and pummeled jaw, which Hart said backed up Deedy’s claim that he drew his firearm in self defense. Deedy was taken to the hospital after complaining about his injuries. However, Deedy refused to take a blood-alcohol test.

A city autopsy report showed Elderts consumed marijuana and cocaine before he died and had an alcohol blood level of 0.12, well above the state’s legal limit for driving of .08.

He also had previous run in with the law, according to public records. In 2008, Elderts was charged with disorderly conduct, and in 2010, he was charged with a petty misdemeanor for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant.

The well-publicized trial is expected to take several weeks and could include as many as 100 witnesses.

Better Times: Christopher Deedy with his wife

The prosecutor warned in her opening statements that witnesses will offer different versions of what occurred and some, at that time of morning, were under the influence of alcohol. The prosecutor also said the surveillance videotape from McDonalds of the incident was “frustratingly fuzzy.”

HawaiiReporter.com joined Hawaii News Now and the Star Advertiser last year in a motion to view the McDonald’s surveillance tape of the shooting, but Circuit Judge Karen Ahn sided with the prosecutor who said pretrial publicity of what was on the tape could prejudice the jury and denied the motion. The defense also wanted the tape released.

The judge also sided with the prosecutor against Deedy on several other motions including his request to move the trial to U.S. District Court and to dismiss the case.

Outside the Honolulu courtroom, a group calling itself World Can’t Wait organized a protest demanding “justice” for Elderts. The group, which holds events in several cities, said on its website it aims to “stop the crimes of your government" and details their opposition to Deedy here.

Racial tensions have been brewing since shortly after the 2011 shooting, showing up in news interviews, letters to newspaper editors, court documents and protests.

Photo courtesy of World Can't Wait Honolulu

Protesters from the World Can’t Wait group compared the case to that of the Trayvon Martin’s killing, claiming in Hawaii, a white agent attacked and killed a local minority.

It took prosecutors about 10 days to charge Deedy with second degree murder when, by the prosecutor’s own admission, there were more than 100 witnesses reporting different versions of the shooting.

Meanwhile, the debate over whether Deedy targeted Elderts for racial reasons or whether he should have used his firearm to defend himself and others continues both in and out of court.

Just like the George Zimmerman trial, in the end, it is the jury that must decide whether Deedy was justified in using lethal force.

Elderts supporters include family, friends and protesters who have followed Deedy to and from the courthouse.

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Hawaii Reporter is an award-winning, independent Hawaii-based news and opinion journal founded in 2001 and launched in February 2002. The journal's staff have won a number of top awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, including the top investigative news reporting awards, business reporting awards, government reporting awards, and online news reporting awards. Hawaii Reporter has a weekly television news show, News Behind the News, which airs on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.

MAHALO Mr. Deedy!!!!
Honolulu needs more people like you. In my 3y. in Honolulu and Nordstrom Comp. even HPD and gov people hates and act against haoles. God bless you Mr. Deedy Haole.
Truly yours,
Haole Alessandra

I'm a Haole... and you never cheer when a man looses his life...
I don't care where you are from or what color you are!
A trigger happy 29 year old from Arlington Va killed a man
They both made horrible decisions....
There is no hooray! over here Nordstrom Girl

I'm born and raised here on Oahu and have many haole friends. I also have a lot of Popolo (black) and friends with all tones of skin color. Haole is a hawaiian term and is descriptive. It's what you add to it that makes it derogatory. We judge people by their attitudes and the way they act. I think some white people have a hard time adjusting not because the locals look down upon them but because they cannot look down upon the locals. When I go to the mainland I see real racism and it's not here in Hawaii.

I don’t know which is worst “a thinly disguised commie front group” or a fascist national security surveillance police state. If the “commies” are agitating to hold fed. agts accountable and honor their solemn oaths, then count me as one too. It is long over due for LEOs to honor their respective oaths of office. I know Ms Ann Wright resigned her U.S. diplomatic mission in Afghanistan? when the Bushwhacker caused unjust and undeclared warfare against Iraq on a lie.

Oh, I do count you as a commie, and a 9-11 truther to boot.
Bush did not cause an undeclared war in Iraq, he had the unanimous backing of congress, something Bathhouse Barry didn't even seek for his meddling in northern Africa. He still supports Mursi and the brohood, the godfather of Hizballah, Hamas and alQueda et al.